Almost 150 homeless people may be forced to go back to sleeping rough when two Dublin hostels close in a fortnight.

In total, 142 former rough sleepers will have to return to the streets when the second hostel closes on May 9.

The 100-bed Bru Aimsir shelter at the Digital Hub on Thomas Street is to close on Saturday, while the 42-bed John Lane West hostel, which accommodates single people and couples, is to close in two weeks.

Focus Ireland and the Peter McVerry Trust jointly manage the latter, which opened during the emergency response to the homelessness crisis after homeless man Jonathan Corrie died sleeping on the streets outside Leinster House in early 2015.

It was due to close its doors last year but remained open as the crisis continued.

But it must now close, Focus Ireland's Mike Allen has revealed.

The charity has been granted planning permission to build 31 units of social housing on the site, which expires in December.

Allen told the Irish Times: "We have really pushed this as late as we can and if we don't get a start, we'd have to start the whole planning process again."

The Peter McVerry Trust is confident it can find alternative accommodation for residents, but knows it will be a difficult task.

A spokesman said: "The entire property market is such that finding suitable accommodation is a challenge."

Bru Aimsir opened in December as part of the cold-weather initiative, to prevent the homeless being forced to sleep rough.

In previous years the hostel remained open as emergency accommodation, but the lease isn't being renewed this time and expires on April 30.